Mixed Up Lives
by skitternimble
Summary: Mistoffelees and Victoria are Macavity's kittens, but they were switched with others by the Jellicle tribe. What will happen when they find out and their lives get mixed up with the cats they were switched with? Misto/Victoria/OCs. Please R&R!
1. Very different lives

**Okay, this is sorta an odd opening, but I wanted to do it this way to get some contrast in on the very different lives the characters lead, so you can understand why they act and react the way they do throughout the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own cats!**

**Warning: hints of incest and abuse, so not for kittens!**

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><p>A dank smell lingered in the halls of the dark warehouse, and in the quiet you could hear water dripping from somewhere. The air felt musty and chains lined the walls, and the sense of death gripped one tightly as they surveyed the scene.<p>

A small white queen lay in a cage, hidden in the shadows. She was curled up, trying to keep warm in the cool, dark room. Her teeth were chattering and tears stained her face from the night before. She was short and her head fur grew pointing downwards slightly, she had a small, dainty head, and off color, gray eyes. Around her neck was a spike collar, one she had been forced to wear since kittenhood, until it became so tight on her that it cut and chaffed her neck. She was white all over her body, except for a few reddish brown spots, tiny and close together in a little patch over her right flank.

Nightmares of the events of the night before flashed through her mind as she lay there, unable to rid her mind of the images even as she passed back and fourth between consciousness.

But suddenly her troubled sleep was inturrupted by a banging noise, and she looked up suddenly from the cold floor and looked into the eyes of a mangie tux cat.

His ears were torn up and he had a scared look in his eyes, realizing he shouldn't be there. "Shhh," he whispered, holding a finger up to his mouth.

He had black specks all over his white bib, a few white specks on his paws, and eyes so blue they looked black, giving one an empty feeling as they gazed into them. On his neck there was a long, thin scar that stood out against his fur. He had been into several fights in his lifetime, although he wouldn't fight back unless he was defending his sister, and even though he was really young, he walked with a pronounced limp.

The queen looked up at her brother worriedly, realizing what their dad would do if he found out he was there.

"You're not supposed to be here," she whispered, getting up slowly, not hiding her fear of what would happen if they were found out.

"And you resisted him last night, so if I get caught I'd be in no more trouble than you," he murmured coldly, although in his face you could see that he wanted to show her compassion.

"I can't... I can't take anymore of him... I couldn't let him..." she looked up at her brother terrified, wanting the comfort he offered, the only comfort she ever recieved from anyone.

He offered her a tender hand, and the understanding that only a brother could have, as he petted her head gently, not saying anything, his actions speaking for him.

"When was the last time you've eaten?" he asked, concerned.

"Three days ago," she said breathlessly, with a pleading look on her face.

Her brother smiled and pulled a large dead rat out from behind his back and handed it to her through the bars. "Here you go, sissy," he said, as she took the rat from him.

She half smiled at him before she said, "it's Cicero, you know I don't like sissy."

The tux cat smiled as he watched his sister begin on the rat, protective of her, not wanting anyone to come and steal her sustenance.

"Thank you... thank you Leonid," she said, genuine gratitude in her voice. She ate the rat quickly, but it was large and fat, so it was quite filling despite her wolfing it down so fast. Her brother stood over her the whole time, one hand inside the bars with her, the other raised, claws bared, ready for anyone who would come to hurt his sister.

When she was done, he held her paw one last time before checking to make sure they were still alone, and then hurried away down the hall, going to beg his father, Macavity, to let her out.

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><p>The sun rose in the Jellicle Junkyard, and despite the trash, the smell of fresh spring blossoms filled the air.<p>

The light from the sun shone through the stained glass window over Victoria's bed, the colors shining through, the room feeling warm and pleasant.

The snow queen dreamt of her love, Plato, and she hugged the pillow tightly as she saw him in her mind. The room smelled of the most beautiful flowers and candles, the flowers being gifts from Plato. She slept peacefully, ignorant of anything else going on in the world.

In the next room, her brother Misto used his magic to help their mother Jellylorum with fixing breakfast, shuffling cards at the same time as he thought over the tricks he would practice that day.

Jellylorum was a sweet older queen, always fussing over her kits with strictness and kindness, making sure they were well brought up and well mannered, and wanted for nothing. "Now don't forget tomorrow is you and your sister's birthday," said Jelly, affectionately, her awkward magician son trying to hide his happiness.

Misto magicked the cards to the table and breathed in the smell of frying bacon and mouse, breakfast was his favorite meal; he had never gone hungry in his lifetime. "I know mother, now what else can I help you with?" he said, bringing out the plates from the cabinet.

"Well, you can go wake up your sister," she said, chuckling as she looked over her shoulder at the door down the hall. "She stayed late at her friend Ectetera's den last night, doing whatever teenage queens do." She said this last bit with a touch of sarcasm, knowing perfectly well that her daughter wasn't into anything of which she would disaprove.

Misto smacked himself in the face, sighing loudly. "Probably gossiping and eating ice cream and having pillow fights," he said, figuring that was what all queens did, since he had never had a date in his life.

Jelly sighed at the thought, since that was what she spent her youth doing, until she had mated...

Misto was the pride of the junkyard, teased by others his age but admired for his abilities by all the adults. He spent most of his time perfecting his arts, his magic and his dancing, and trying for the life of him to get a date. And whenever he wasn't doing any of that, he was busy pulling pranks on his sister.

"Right, I'll go wake her," he said, picking up a cup of cold water and hurrying out of the kitchen.

Jelly saw him pick up the water and suddenly she realized exactly how he intended to wake his sister. "No, not like that!" she called, trying to stop the mischievious magician she called her son.

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><p><strong>By the way, sorry if the second half seems a little bit emptier or less emotional than the first, I did that on purpose to add contrast, so that the fact that there is a lot Misto and Vicky take for granted is apparent in the writing.<strong>

**So what do you think of the idea? I try to do at least two stories at a time, and I'm putting the others on hold to do this one and Sex, Drugs, and Munkustrap, because I work best when I can alternate. **


	2. Escaping

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**I would just like to take a minute and thank Lunaflora for being the first to review this story! It means a lot that people give their opinions, so thanks!**

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><p>Cicero laid down on her camp bed, allowing herself to sink into the two inch thick matress and sigh from the comfort. To her anything was better than spending another night in her dad's dungeon, where she slept on the stone floor, nothing to comfort or warm her.<p>

She shared this room with her brother, as well as a small wash room that included a basin and a chamber pot. The room was drafty and cold; they had no privacy, no entertainment, and would sometimes spend days locked up together if their dad got really angry. To her, this was a palace.

There was only one window, small and round with bars on the outside, and cracked glass. Through it, Sissy and Leo could see the stars and the moon, and every night they liked to stargaze through it, that being their only recreation. It was what she looked forward to, probably the only thing she had ever had to look forward to.

Cicero pulled up the scratchy wool blanket, enjoying its warmth. It was almost midnight, she nuzzled her pillow, relishing in the comfort of not lying on a stone floor. Now she really just wanted to sleep, but was too worried for her brother to shut her eyes. She never felt secure without him, so she tossed and turned in bed, until she was almost asleep. But suddenly she lifted an ear at the sound of someone out in the hallway, and she instinctively jumped out of bed, baring her claws defensively.

She listened as the door knob turned, ready to strike any henchcat that came in, but relaxed when she saw it was her brother coming through the door, clutching a parcel to his chest.

"Leonid..." she breathed, sitting down on her cot, "why are you so late?"

The tux cat looked out at the hallway and then shut the door quickly, sighing in relief as he turned to his sister. "I have news," he breathed, a look of regret on his face. "There was a death... a henchcat was executed. I know I shouldn't have, because I could have been caught, but I... I went through his things, I found us some food, that should last a while."

Cicero's eyes went wide at this, she was used to hearing about executions, and once her dad had forced her to witness one, but the idea of her brother going through a dead cat's things...

Her thoughts were inturrupted as her brother proceeded to set the parcel down and open it, tearing the paper as he did so.

Cicero raised her eyebrows as the contents were laid out on the table, some bread, a dried dead rat, and a couple of tins of spam.

"We can split the rat, but the bread and spam we'll have to save until we're really hungry," he said, sitting down at the table with his sister. He had a pained expression on his face, it was obvious he thought it was low to go through a dead cat's stuff. It was his sister's turn to comfort him now, holding his hand in hers and looking at him in a way that just said thank you.

"Because of you, brother, tonight I will get to eat more than once in a day for the first time in a month," she said, looking at him earnestly. It was such a cheesy thing to say, but she meant it, thanks to her brother she wouldn't go to bed hungry.

"I have something else to tell you," he murmured, cutting the rat in half with one of his claws. He looked at her very seriously, needing to tell her something that even he couldn't believe. "Eat your rat," he said quickly as he handed her a piece, wishing she would stop looking at him like that.

Cicero took the rat but wouldn't take her eyes off her brother, wanting him to tell her whatever it was.

Leonid looked very seriously at his sister, not touching his half of the rat, wanting her to understand how crucial this was. The smile slowly faded from Cicero's face as she looked at her brother, fear setting in as she realized this was beyond anything she could ever imagine.

"Dad's gone out for some business..." he begun, with a scared but amazed look on his face. "I did something else, something that will help us..."

"What is it?" asked Cicero, unsure of whether or not to be afraid. She was on the edge of her seat now, almost holding her breath at the thought that her brother might have done something that could get him on their dad's bad side.

"We're leaving," he said bluntly, watching his sister's reaction, which was to drop her jaw and blink as she looked off into space thoughtfully. "As I was going through the henchcat's things, I found some sleeping pills... and one of the guards is throwing a party, so I snuck into the kitchen and I spiked the punch with them. Everyone is out like a light downstairs, we can just leave." He couldn't believe he was actually saying this, breaking this news so calmly, as if they had been planning this for a while.

Cicero felt like she had been splashed in the face with cold water, the idea of leaving... just leaving. It was crazy, it was what she had always wanted to do, to get away from this hell-hole she called a home. It was so sudden though, like a storm from out of nowhere, and the idea of not knowing where to go, and leaving this place that had become a place of torment and a comfort zone.

"Cicero," whispered the tux, and the white queen looked up at her brother with eyes wide with terror and shock. "I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore," he said, squeezing her paw. "I haven't been able to stop dad from abusing you, so I'm going to get you away from here. You can't live like this, and neither can I. Some of the things they want me to do... we can't become like them."

Cicero still looked up frightenedly at the tux, scared to venture away from what was her normal, but surrenduring, knowing that her brother would care for her.

They ate the rat in silence, the amplitude of the situation slowly weighing down on them. They were just going to leave. It didn't feel real for either of them, it didn't seem like something they could actually just do. It was their whole lives, where they were, everything they ever knew. Now suddenly just making it possible and deciding to leave it all behind; a slow numbness to reality set in as they finished the rat and made their preparations.

Having the option to leave doesn't make leaving any easier, that was what Cicero found as she took the case off her pillow and gently put the tins of spam inside. This room was always her refuge, nothing bad that had ever happened to her had happened in this room, and she was reluctant to leave it.

A sense of seriousness and mourning overcame them both as they realized that the food was all they had to bring with them and they were actually now ready to go, nothing left to it. As they walked out the door, Cicero looked one last time at her window, feeling as though she were leaving a piece of herself there, since that was where she could say for sure she was happy.

So the frightened brother and sister, walked without a word through the lair of Macavity, past the guard stations, and out the doors and into the empty streets.

Cicero gripped her brother's arm tight as they went, him being the only one she had to hold onto as she left her prison and home. She was terrified, as her calm brother led her off into the night.

Unbeknownst to them, heading for the Jellicle Junkyard.

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><p><strong>So what'all think? I'm really hoping to<strong> **do this in such a way that everything they lived through and endured is expressed through the reactions to situations, which will be difficult, because I just love doing back stories, and here I'm going to be trying to minimize that and let the characters speak for themselves.**


	3. A sad history

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

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><p>Jellylorum quietly crept into her closet, feeling as if the life was being sucked out of her as she stood in the dark. For a moment she didn't move, she merely leaned on the door frame, as if weakened by the weight of her secret.<p>

_"Why do I do this every year? I'm just torturing myself,"_ she thought, the sting of not being able to undo what was done sinking in, as it did every time she thought about it.

She slowly moved the boxes out of the way on the top shelf of her closet, revealing a small wooden one behind the others, with a latch on the front. She reached for it and pulled it down, holding it with both hands ceremoniously as she somberly turned and walked back over to her bed.

She sat down and took a deep breath, preparing herself emotionally for the hard blow it always was when she looked at this. She ran a hand down the side of her face, feeling all the wrinkles the stress from this had given her; aging her prematurely. With weariness she opened the latch and lifted the lid, her hands shaking the whole time, as the grief and regret made her not want to see this.

Inside the box was a picture and a note, both having the same date on them, the day her kittens were born. Both were browned and faded from sitting in a box for eighteen years, only being looked at once a year.

Carefully she picked up the photograph, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, but she tried to force them back as she looked at the picture. The picture was of her kittens, both laying side by side, fast asleep. One a tuxedo tom, the other a pure white queen.

Seeing this made her thoughts drift back to the tux tom and white queen she had raised, ignorance of their origin being her gift to them.

After looking at the photo for as long as she could, she lifted her head to the ceiling in despair, her breath coming in short pants. She carefully put the photo down and picked up the note, unfolding it as she did so.

The note was written in black ink on thick, heavy paper. Her heart broke every time she looked at it and read the cold, heartless message written on it, a message she had memorized and was permantly stained into her soul.

_Dear Jellylorum, as we are sure you are aware,  
>Macavity's kittens have been born.<em>

_After a meeting and much deliberation,  
>it has been decided to acquire these kittens,<br>in the case that they may have been born with magical properties._

_They are to be replaced by look-alikes,  
>in order to prevent Macavity finding out about our taking them.<br>_

_It is being done this way for the safety of the tribe,  
>as Macavity's knowledge of our taking them would lead to deadly conflict,<br>which is why the kittens must be switched to avoid his suspicion._

_Our spies have informed us of the kittens' description,  
>and it has been discovered that the ones you have recently had are a perfect match.<em>

_We are sure that you feel honored at having been chosen to help the tribe in this fashion,  
>aware of how most queens would give anything to be allowed to serve their tribe.<em>

_Tomorrow someone will come over to take your kittens away,  
>and one of our spies will bring you Macavity's kittens to raise as your own.<em>

**You will comply.**

Tears fell onto the note, sinking into the paper and joining tears from the past. She didn't even get a say in it, her kittens were taken away and raised by Macavity, and she never got to see them again.

Just the shock of it, having just given birth, not even having an hour's rest before one of the junkyard's spies came in to look at her kittens. She had begged him to leave, and when he did she thought that maybe everything wold be okay, but later that day, she was delivered that note.

_"you will comply," _she thought, still barely able to believe that this was written by Old Deuteronomy.

She had to bare this burden to the grave, knowing that the kittens she had carried and given birth to were to be raised by a monster. but what hurt the most, was that she worried so much for her real kittens, but she loved the ones she had raised as much as her own.

_"Nobody deserves to live with this,"_ she thought, gritting her teeth,_ "they should have just taken Macavity's. They didn't have to replace them with mine!"_

Her heart ached as she slowly laid the note back in the box, and shut the lid and re-did the latch. She got up, glad to have gotten it over with. She once again held the box in both hands as she walked back over from her bed to the closet, but suddenly, to her horror the door opened.

She froze in place for a moment as Victoria peaked from behind the door, and opened it slowly with a smile on her face. Jelly was about to be exposed...

Quickly, she turned and shoved the box under her bed, hoping that the daughter she raised hadn't seen it.

But Victoria's changed expression showed her otherwise, as her eyes widened at the sight of her mother frantically trying to pull the blanket down to the floor to hid it. "Mother?" she breathed, unsure of whether or not she should leave.

Jelly quickly turned to her daughter and her chest heaved as she looked at her, begging Victoria with her eyes not to ask the question she knew she was about to ask.

"What's in that box, mother?" she asked, astonished at her mother's actions. She looked at the older queen, seeing the panicked look on her face, knowing that she was hiding something.

Jelly straightened up and crossed her arms, wishing more than anything she could tell the truth. It hurt her, it pained her to look her precious Victoria straight in the eyes, and tell her it was nothing.


	4. A panicked surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Hey, sorry it took me so long to update on this, our foster kitten died, and I was so upset I could only write sad things up until now. Sorry to keep yall waiting.**

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><p>Victoria walked through the junkyard, wondering suspiciously what her mother was hiding. She and her brother were supposed to be getting ready for their birthday party that evening, but Misto had dissappeared, probably gone off somewhere to practice magic, and she just couldn't get her mind off of what had happened that morning.<p>

_"What could be in that box?"_ she wondered, sitting down on an old tire for a minute. _"It makes no sense..." _She held her face out of frustration, realizing her mom was hiding something important. She had been thinking of nothing else, because her mother never hid anything from her, they were used to being open and honest.

She sat there thinking, but suddenly a loud pop and puff of smoke made her jump, and Mistoffelees stood there in front of her, coughing from inhaling some of the smoke.

"Hccc, wholll," he coughed for nearly a minute, trying to swish away the smoke with his tail as he coughed into his fist. "Vic..." he managed, looking up at his sister with watery eyes, "how'd that one turn out?"

Victoria lay on the ground, grasping her chest from the sudden shock she got from her brother appearing out of thin air like that. "You'd think I'd be used to that by now," she said, getting up and brushing the dirt off herself. "Misto, we need to talk." She looked tense and thoughtful, her eyes darting about as she spoke as if she were looking for answers out of nowhere.

Misto turned his head to the side, noticing the unusually serious look on his sister's face. "What is it?" he asked, "I still need to ask Jemima to be my date to our party tonight."

Victoria wanted to roll her eyes sarcastically, but she was too worried and confused to. "Misto..." she sighed, wanting to be angry that he had anything else on his mind, even though he didn't know. She shook her head out of frustration, upset that her mother had lied to her. "Mother's hiding something, and I don't know what. I saw her shoving a box under her bed frantically and when I questioned her, she said it was nothing."

Misto wanted to make light of what his sister was saying, but he saw from her face that she was genuinely hurt. "Mom never hides anything from us, she's always been completely honest..." she muttered, sitting back down, defeated. Misto felt her sense of longing, and the idea of their mother hiding something begun to bring about him a cold feeling of something he wasn't sure he wanted to know about.

"Vicky," he said, sitting down next to his sister, putting an arm around her comfortingly. He tried to get her to smile at him, but she turned away and wouldn't look at him, as if grieved by the situation. "Mom never hides anything from us... remember when dad left to become an actor? Mom was completely honest with us, told us dad had been very angry and insecure for a long time..." her voice trailed of, saddly as she was reminded of her dad. "Maybe... maybe what mom is hiding has something to do with him?"

Misto shrugged and nodded, "maybe, but perhaps it's just better left alone, considering she's ancient and it probably has something to do with old queen stuff." He knew this would get a laugh out of his sister, and as she cracked up and chuckled with a silly expression, he smiled, glad to get her mind off things.

"Listen Vick, find that beaux of yours, Plato, remind him it's you're birthday... Oh, and coming from a tom's perspective, believe me, it's always great to be reminded," he added, seeing the confused expression on his sister's face. "And get ready to have a good time tonight, okay?"

Victoria smiled in a silly, defeated sort of way, and stood up, her brother rising with her.

"You know, it's always whenever you cheer me up that I remember just how cute you were as a kitten," she said, giggling. "And then you grew up..."

Misto pouted at this, looking at his sister with a fake angry look that only he could do, sending her to the edge of hysterics.

She had to cover her mouth and wipe her eyes just from the sheer goofiness of it, but suddenly a scream echoed through the junkyard, both cats straightening up to see where the sound was coming from. They both looked to see which direction the voice was coming from, but then it came again.

"Can somebody help me please!" came the panicked yell of a tom, from the other side of the junkyard. "I need help, it's my sister!"

Suddenly a frantic looking tuxedo tom came into sight, coming around a junk pile near the gate. He was running as fast as he could, kicking up dust and surrounded by a crowd of cats. In his arms he carried the unconscious form of a white queen, and he had a look of fright on his face that only became more visible as he got closer.

Victoria's mouth hung open at the sight, it briefly registering to her that the two cats were the same colors as them. For a moment she was paralyzed, afraid to move, then suddenly she found herself running to meet them. Misto bounded after her, coming to her side with a look of shock written on his face.

The strange tom came to a running stop among the crowd of cats, some backing up to give them some air, others backing up out of suspicion.

He held the white queen close to his body protectively, panting as he spoke and looked around at the crowd of cats. "She... she had a stressed induced panic attack... and then she passed out. Please, can somebody help her?" He looked around at them desperately, his fear for his sister evident just in the voice he spoke with.

Victoria and Misto got there just as he was saying this, both coming to a stop at the edge of the crowd. Victoria saw the fear in the tom's eyes, and she couldn't help but be afraid for the unconscious queen also.

Her heart pounding in her chest she suddenly heard herself say, "my mom is a nurse, she can help," and then quickly she rounded on her brother, looking at him earnestly. "Go get Jenny, mom will need the help."

At this Misto bounded off, heading in the direction of the Gumby Cat's den. Victoria then looked one more time at the strange tom and nodded before she bounded off, gesturing for the tom to follow. "This way," she called, running ahead.

Leonid literally only had a moment to realize what Victoria had just said, not expecting someone to suddenly say to follow them. He quickly started after her, pushing past the crowd and huffing from lack of breath. His adrenaline was through the roof and he ran as fast as he physically could with his limp, too afraid for his sister to care. He looked down at his sister's sweaty face, the thought of something even worse happening to her overwhelming him as his feet carried him through the junkyard.

Victoria ran ahead of him, leading the way back to her den, literally unable to believe what was happening, like it had came out of nowhere. "This way," she called back, leading the tux tom back to her den.


	5. An emergency well handled

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Thanks for saying that Wombaat, it means a lot. The kitten was barely a week old, some foster organization gave her to us after her mother rejected her. The condolences are truly appreciated, it's so hard losing them so young. :(**

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><p>Victoria ran at top speed back to her den, leading the strange tux tom carrying his sister. She almost couldn't even believe what she was doing, this just came out of nowhere, and now she was helping these strange cats. Sweat poured down her face as she led the way, the day having gotten hot and muggy.<p>

There was a feeling of tension in the air, as the they raced through the junkyard, the suspicious eyes of cats watching them as they ran past.

"How far is it?" asked Leo, panting desperately as he struggled to keep up, his bad leg making his pace uneven and painful. He looked down at his sister's face again, her breathing was fast and she was covered in dirt kicked up from the run.

"We're here, it's this den right ahead. Just come right straight in and don't stop," called Vick, acting completely unlike herself by just taking charge of the situation. Her heart pounding she made a bee line for the den, jumping over pieces of junk.

It felt like her feet were on fire, and she could barely even hold her tail up as she got to the door and pushed it open, almost slamming into it as she did so.

"Mom," she said, trying to catch her breath as she stood there in the doorway holding herself.

The old queen looked up from her dishes worriedly, seeing the panicked look on her daughter's face.

"We have an emergency"- she begun, but she was cut of as Leonid came through the door, barely able to draw a breath and holding his unconscious sister protectively in his arms.

Immediately Jelly went into nurse mode, as she took in the situation instantly and all her experience and proffesionalism washed over her. "Bring her over here," she said, hurrying up to Leonid and directing him toward the couch.

She stood back as Leonid gently laid his sister on the couch, taking in the situation as she watched the tux and white queen. All the realizations hit her at once, it was like a kick in the face, all her past suddenly throwing itself at her out of nowhere. It couldn't be true, but it was, the impossible had happened. These were her kittens, the one's taken from her, she struggled to not say something and focus on the emergency at hand, holding all her pent up emotions back for just a little bit more. Time seemed to stop for a moment, even though all were rushing in desperate attempt to help the queen.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she stared for a moment, her hands shaking as she approached the unconscious queen, until Leonid's voice brought her back to reality.

"Can you help her?" he asked, almost choking out of fear as he spoke. He looked like he was about to pass out, the stress and anxiety of the situation just radiating from him.

His words brought Jelly back to reality and she pushed back all the thoughts and memories coming back to her, focusing on the queen. "Vick, bring my bag," she said, taking Cicero's pulse with her hand.

Victoria rushed off to get it, watched by Leonid curiously as his eyes darted back and fourth at the two queens who were conscious. He hung over the arm of the couch and stared at Jelly and his sister, wondering what was gonna happen. He watched his sister's chest heaving up and down, relieved every time she took a breath, hoping for the life of him that it wouldn't be her last.

"Pulse is above normal, breathing excellerated," said Jelly, letting go of the queen's wrist and bringing a hand up to her face to feel her temperature.

"Will she be okay?" asked Leonid, as Victoria ran back into the room, handing her mom a black bag and opening it.

"Just wait," said Jelly quickly, putting a stethoscope to her ears and listening to Cicero's heartbeat. The heartbeat was irregular and excellerated, and Jelly couldn't keep the worry from appearing in her eyes as she looked down at the unconscious queen. She looked up at Leonid and saw the fear and desperation he had, and she quickly turned to her daughter and stammered, "get me a tongue depressor."

Vick hurriedly searched through the bag and found one, her mother snatching it quickly and turning Cicero's face toward her. She opened her mouth and pressed the wooden stick against her tongue, turning her head where there was some light as she looked down the queen's throat.

"Get me a knife!" she said, throwing down the tongue depressor and looking about frantically. She grabbed the collar that was tightly belted around Cicero's neck, fear searing through her as she watched her labored breathing becoming more and more strained.

Victoria literally froze at this, staring at her mother for a moment before jumping to her feet and running to get one.

Leonid's hands shook as he looked down at his sister, seeing all the sweat dripping down her face, some of it sticking to the corners of her lips. He couldn't move, he didn't know what to do, so all he could do was watch helplessly.

Victoria quickly brought her mother the knife, who breathed a sigh of relief as she got it. "Move your hands," she told Leonid, who reluctantly pulled them away from his sister.

Jelly turned back to the distressed queen and grabbed the tight collar, knife in hand. She took a breath and reached out and yanked the collar, pulling it and quickly severing it with the knife.

Cicero fell back as the collar came off, all the sores and cuts underneath now fully exposed. For one terrifying second nothing happened, as the cats all looked on worriedly. But then she begun to take in fast deep breaths and gasped as her eyes opened suddenly, almost scarring everybody. She shook all over from shock as everything came back into focus and her heart rate slowed down. Her breaths came in gasps as she surveyd the scene around her and her body relaxed, and she reached up and felt at her throat where the collar once was.

Leonid reached down and put a hand on her shoulder, almost sending her into another panic until she looked up and saw it was him, and she grabbed his hand tight, not letting it go. His touch calmed her down, and for a moment she laid her head back in relief, before looking around to notice for the first time, Jellylorum sitting on the edge of the couch.

Cicero stared at the older queen confusedly, wondering who the heck she was.

_"Where... what..."_ she thought, unable to focus as she begun panting heavily as she felt at her now collar-less neck.

She was surrounded by strange faces, in a strange place, and she didn't know what to do as she laid her head back and looked up at her brother, gripping his hand tightly.

"Leo..." she breathed, barely able even say one word after all the trauma she'd been through.

"No, don't speak Sissy," he said, gently squeezing her hand. "They're gonna help you, don't worry," he added, as he noticed her fear as she looked around at the strange cats.

Jelly could barely breathe as she looked at Sissy and Leo, these were _her_ kittens. Even as she rummaged through her bag, all the realizations and epiphanies of this hit her like a semi truck. _This literally came out of knowhere! _Suddenly the secret she had thought would accompony her to the grave was right here in her face. It felt like she was going to have a heart attack, it was so much to take in. She had fought and cried the day these two had been taken away, and now here they were, right in her den, having lived completely different lives than the ones she would have given them.

As she looked through the big, black bag, she kept glancing at them, admiring their every feature, memorizing their timid faces. She wanted to absorb them with her eyes, but also wanted to sink into a whole and live within the secret she had been keeping, because it had become so comfortable to live with, however painful.

Nobody said anything, as if aware that something was up with Jelly as she begun to perspire, her nervous eyes making Victoria stare with great scrutiny. It was so tense, it felt like everybody was waiting for something to explode, at least that's how Jelly felt, having coming into a head-on collision with her past.

She slowly pulled a piece of cotton from the bag, pouring alcohol on it with shaking hands as she stared at the two absolute strangers that were her kittens. "This may sting," she warned, gently dabbing at the cuts on Cicero's neck with the cotton. But Cicero didn't flinch, didn't hiss or anything, she merely looked up at the older queen confusedly, acting completely apethetic to what she was doing to her neck.

Jelly couldn't believe what she was even doing, as she cleaned the cuts gently, drawing a tiny breath as her hand touched Cicero for a breath moment. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions, you would think she was on catnip as she looked down at her daughter.

"Tell me how this happened," she heard herself say, suddenly realizing that her voice still worked.

"Well..." begun Leonid, unsure of whether it was safe to tell them where they had come from. "We were leaving our home... it was a... dysfunctional situation." He was trying to choose his words wisely, figuring that was probably the mildest description he could come up with.

"What do you mean?" asked Victoria, turning her head to the side curiously, finding his vague explanation strange. "Where you having family trouble, because running away won't solve that."

Leonid raised an eyebrow at this, realizing this queen had no idea of what they had lived through. "Right... well, it was the only home either of us had ever known, but it was certainly a horrible one, to say the least. The thing is..." he said, his voice trailing off as he looked down at his sister. "When you've grown up in a bad situation, leaving it is hard, because the bad becomes normal. And Sissy... we had walked all night and I knew she was scared, but I thought she'd get over it, but by morning she was frantically begging to be let go, so that she could go home."

"I'm sorry, okay," she said, looking up at her brother and then at everyone else apologetically, as if she needed to apologize for this.

"Shhh, don't... Eventually she was gasping for breath and had fallen to the ground, trembling and saying she had to go home or she'd die, and before I knew it she was unconscious." He sounded as if he was struggling not to ask if he could sit next to his sister and craddle her, sadness framed his face as he gently stroked her head fur.

Jelly was silent as she listened to this story, paying more attention to just mentally relishing in that these were her kits. They didn't look the way she'd pictured them, more as though life had chewed them up and spat them back out. Cicero's coat may have been white, but it was duller than Victoria's, and just lacked the glow that seemed to surround the gracefull queen. She was also shorter, a whole head shorter, in fact, if Jelly didn't already know how old she was, she would have assumed Cicero was barely a young teen.

Leo looked different than she had expected as well, his eyes so dark, unlike Misto's deep, bright blue, and even though they were about the same height, Leo just seemed bigger, probably because his coat was just slightly poofier.

She was taking all of this in, when suddenly, Mistoffelees burst through the door, followed by Jenny, huffing through the door with a serious but kindly worried look on her face.

"What's the emergency," she asked, but Jelly didn't hear her, she was looking into the eyes of her daughter, Cicero. The look of fear, as if something bad could happen at any moment, longing and hurt so naked within their dull gray depths. It was like a sea of gray, with all feeling right there on the surface for anyone to read, something the queen had learned to cope with by not looking directly at others to hide her feelings.

Jelly was entranced in her daughter's eyes, they eyes she thought she would never see, but saddly, Jenny's questioning brought her back to reality, and she sat up and looked around.

"So what's wrong, what do you need me to do, Jelly?" asked Jenny, impatient.

Jelly turned around and looked up at her with a serious look on her face, and then she looked at Misto and Vick with all her love for them, wanting them to know that they were still her's. "There's no emergency anymore..." she begun, taking a breath as her eyes caught Leo's and then looked back down at Cicero. "There's no emegency... my kittens are safe."


	6. Jelly's revelation

**Dislcaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been pretty busy lately, trying to graduate from highschool this year! **

**Wombaat, thanks for the review, I'll review more of your stories once I have more time on my hands. By the way, what do you think of my story about Munkustrap being a Druggy? Realisitic back story?**

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><p>It was like the world had exploded; Jelly had just revealed that her kittens had been switched. Now it felt as though all the air had been sucked from the room, only worse. It didn't seem possible for anyone to say anything or even go on existing, that was how tense it was. Now a harsh shadow loomed over all in the room, disbelief and resentment and anguish making it almost impossible to think straight.<p>

Victoria was sitting on the edge of her seat in tears, silent and unable to even blink. Her jaw was half open and she raked her claws across her knee, her entire conscious self now fighting desperately to prove what Jelly said as wrong.

Jelly had just finished explaining the whole story, trying to keep her composure and not completely break down at the tragedy of it all, but still she had burst out crying several times.

Cicero still lay on the couch, trying to act totally unaffected as she looked at Jellylorum with a cold stare, the fake emotions she tried to portray filling her mother with a sense of guilt.

On the table, Jellylorum's secret box lay open, the photo and the note desplayed for all to see. The hardest thing for Jelly, had been showing them these things, since long kept secrets are always the hardest to tell the truth about.

With the reactions the note and the photo had provoked, you would have thought that Jelly had been hiding a severed hand in the box. Although, considering the magnitude of what had been done, it wouldn't have been much different if it had been.

Mistoffelees was sitting next to his sister, his head turned toward the opposite wall and his eyes closed in meditation as everything slowly sunk in. It was as if his brain were slowly soaking up the information, while something else squeezed it out at the same time. It wasn't some sudden horrible news, but strangely a sick revelation that he had simply been waiting to know his entire life; he knew, but he didn't know. Although now that it had come out, it hurt more than he could have ever expected.

Jennyanydots sat with one paw over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at her friend with almost a sense of fear. She wanted more than anything to say, 'tell me it isn't true,' but Jelly couldn't tell her that, and the silence between them was painful.

In fact, it seemed that almost everyone was afraid to speak, now that Jelly had spilled her guts, it didn't seem possible to say anything else. The air felt still inside the once warm and alive den, the quietness creeping up on everyone and gnawing at them in a gut wrenching way. The silence was almost as cold as this hidden truth, but it suddenly was peirced in a way that sent fear through everyone as Leonid spoke.

"If we weren't switched... then nothing bad would have happened to my sister." He said this looking down at Cicero, who's eyes were half closed as she looked up at her brother. Slowly, Leo raised his head and looked around at the other cats in the den, his dark, calm eyes making everyone feel drawn in. He licked his lips as if to speak again, but then thought better of it and looked down again at his sister. "I'm sorry," he mouthed to her, for all of the times he had failed to protect her, since it all could have been so easily avoided.

There was another painful silence, but this one wasn't so strained, as it seemed everone was waiting for Leo to continue.

"...if this, Old Deuteronomy, hadn't made this decision about us being switched, then..." he seemed to get lost in the thought, his brows narrowing in contemplation as he considered what their lives could have been. It didn't seem possible to him, all he had ever known was pain and anguish, and it was all due to one cat's decision about who would raise them. And his sister, every time he had had to defend her, every time he had failed, every time Macavity abused her... The thought coursed through him like fire shooting through his veins, with a feeling of disgust for the cat that had sentenced them to this.

"It's just so..." Victoria looked up at Jellylorum, distraught. She could barely get the words out, it was such a shocking revelation. She felt like she was being choked to death, this made everything different. It was a burden that she hadn't wanted that now hung around her neck like a chain, connecting her with Macavity. She looked down at herself in disgust, feeling as though every lie she had been told now marked her and anyone could see right through her.

"I'm... I'm Macavity's daughter!" She stood up as she said this, and she turned and leaned her face against the wall. She started to shake, as if she were about to have a nervous breakdown or something.

Immediately Jelly and Misto jumped up to calm her down, but she pushed them both away, almost hysterical now. The look on her face was of the purest anger and heartbreak, Victoria almost looked frightening, as if she had an entirely different face.

"you're not my mom," she almost gasped and yelled at the same time. She turned to Jelly, holding her claws in front of her for protection and swatting at her when she tried to come near. "Leave me alone!" she yelled, pushing past her mom and brother. She looked around desperately, for a moment her eyes landing on Cicero and Leonid, and then without a moment's hesitation she bolted out the door in a streak of white.

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><p>It was midnight, it had been the most stressful day of Jellylorum's life.<p>

The old queen walked wearily through the junkyard back to her den, the darkness around her creeping into her soul. She breathed slowly through her mouth as she walked, trudging along a dark road that went through the 'yard. Her eyes were droopy and every emotion churning in her gut just drained more and more energy out of her.

Everything seemed sureal; what had happened that day, Jelly had imagined happening almost everyday since her kittens had been taken away. She had played it out in her head so many times, rescuing them or them running away and finding her, but she never allowed herself to believe it could actually happen.

Finally her den came into sight, the only relief she had felt that whole day. As she slowly approached it and pushed the door open, she almost collapsed just from the exertion of opening it.

"So how'd it go?" asked the concerned voice of Jennyanydots, who had been waiting in the the den the whole time for Jelly to get back.

Jellylorum walked through the dimly lit room and fell back into a seat, sinking into it before she looked up at her friend and answered. "Old Dueteronomy's away for a month... Munkustrap said the decision on whether they can stay rides on him." There was so much fear in her voice, Jelly was literally in terror that they wouldn't be allowed to stay. Or worse, be given back to Macavity, she tried to keep that thought from coming back up as she gripped herself tightly.

"We should probably keep this quiet"-"too late, Victoria's already told the junkyard," groaned Jelly, her exhaustion evident just in the tone of her voice. She looked like a wreck and sounded like she was about to pass out. A look of total despair lingered on her face, and she even looked older just from the stress of this.

"Victoria... she ran through the junkyard yelling about it, telling every cat she ran into about the switch and then moving on to the next one."

"Where is she?" asked Jenny kindly, worrying about the fact that Victoria hadn't gotten home yet.

"She's staying at Electra's, says I'm not her mother and she won't come home as long as 'they're' here," these words were so hard to get out, the pain was almost unimaginable. Jelly laid her head back quietly, trying to melt into the soft cushion and empty her mind.

Jenny didn't say anything, she knew it wouldn't help Jelly any here. After a few minutes of waiting and wondering what to do, she got up and walked to the door. As she opened it, the gumbie cat turned and looked at her friend and whispered, "Goodnight, Jelly," before slipping out quietly into the junkyard.

Jelly didn't turn to say goodbye, instead when she heard the door close, she rolled over and quietly fell asleep, tears running down her cheeks.

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><p><strong>People, I love hearing opinions, tell me what needs to be improved or redone. Shoot, I'll rewrite the whole chapter if I have to, I just want to hear what yall think!<strong>


	7. Awkward Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Hey, can I get a few reviews on here, because yesterday was my birthday? Please! I love yall's opinions, and it would mean a lot to me.**

**Warning: some language in this chapter.**

**Apologies: sorry, but I just had to combine chapters five and six, because the story just seemed to drag in that scene. Again, sorry!**

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><p>Jelly tiredly bustled around the kitchen, making a huge breakfast for her returned kittens. She had hardly slept, but that didn't matter to her, she needed to do something to distract herself from all her pain, and cooking helped. It had helped her to cope for eighteen years, after all.<p>

She was putting out plates on the table, stirring the chopped mouse sausage that was on the stove, setting out napkins, and trying to force herself to stay calm.

_"Okay, just make sure you give them and Quaxo the same treatment so he doens't get jealous..." _this thought rang through her head and her eyes went wide as she remembered she hadn't even set Quaxo's place yet.

She rushed back to the table and put his plate at his usual seat, and was about to run back and get a napkin, when suddenly a voice came from behind her.

"May I offer you any assistance, ma'am?" asked Leonid, looking down humbly. He seemed nervous and unsure, since he realized how awkward it was for him to be there, so he had decided that politeness was the best way to go. "I could set the table, or maybe help with the dishes?"

"Ohhh... no, thank you," Jelly managed, her expression that of someone who had just been asked something extremely personal by a complete stranger. "No thank you..." She repeated this just to have something to say, and then looking around the tom and asked, "where's your sister?"

Leonid looked up and pointed down the hall, about to say she was still in their shared room, but before he could she timidly stuck her head around the door, walking toward the kitchen.

"She's right here," he said, as she entered the room and looked around blankly. She kept her eyes half closed and lowered, a submissive gesture she had been taught from an early age. She really didn't know how to act any other way, she had spent her entire life cowaring, so it was hard not to here.

"Are you ready for breakfast?" asked Jelly kindly, wanting to seem reasurring to the frightened queen. She knew she would have to be patient with Sissy, but even that was a little painful, as she just wanted to throw her arms around the queen and hold her.

Cicero nodded her head and allowed Jelly to lead her to her seat, keeping her head lowered as she sat down at the table. She didn't dare look up, didn't ask what was for breakfast, she didn't even dare make eye contact with any of them. She felt it was for her own protection, but somehow, she found herself also looking down out of anger, not wanting to see all that she had missed out on.

Just then Misto looked around the corner cautiously and walked into the room, looking up at his mother for permission before taking a seat. He didn't say a word, and he was usually the talkative one, but here he felt too awkward and scared to speak. And when he saw what his mother made for breakfast, he looked up at Sissy and Leo with a touch of Jealousy, something he wasn't known for but couldn't help in this case.

_"Damn, she's really gone all out,"_ he thought, trying to rationalize his mother's treatment of these two.

Leo sat down as Jelly put the rest of the food on the table, feeling guilty that the queen who claimed to be his birth mother wouldn't let him help her. He just wanted to help, so he would feel that he fit here somehow, because the distance he felt between himself and her was scaring him.

As Jelly set everything out and took a seat, she mentally decided to play this out as normally as possible, so she reached over and took Misto's paw.

Misto, out of habit, gripped Jelly's paw and then reached over to the cat sitting next to him, resting his paw on Leo's.

Leo stared at him for a moment but then just decided to go with it, realizing it was best to not offend anyone's costums. He reached to his right and Cicero quickly took Leo's paw, not hesitant at all to feel the familiar grasp.

"Let us pray," said Jelly, and then she and Misto begun in unison.

"EC is great.  
>EC is good.<br>Let us thank him for our food.  
>Amen."<p>

They both looked up from bowing their heads to see that Leo and Cicero were staring at them in confusion. Cicero even looked a little uneased by this, while Leo simply expressed deep perplexity, but his calm dark eyes still showing acceptance to whatever anyone said.

"Now, who wants eggs?" asked Jelly, deciding to just end the awkwardness and carry on, picking up the plate of scrambled eggs and serving Cicero first.

Jelly stood as she served, smiling brightly as she offered large helpings to everyone. She was determined to do this right, as if this were perfectly normal, serving complete strangers who were biological kin.

The food was absolutely luscious, a huge plate of, juicy, mouse sausage, cut into halves and laid resting in a wide saucer.

Fine sardines in the tin; eggs, hard and soft boiled, scrambled, and fried. There was crisp toast, not an inch of it burned. Ham cut thin and fried in its own drippings, rolled up into wraps and lined up neatly on a plate.

There was a large blue pitcher, from which was poured smooth, rich cream which was offered to everyone in large mugs with gusto.

And in the center of the table, was a large crystal glass bowl full of ice, upon which rested huge, rich yellow chunks of butter.

It was extravagent, enough food to feed ten cats. Although none of it would go to waste, Jelly would use the left-overs in future meals, this was, in the most literal sense, a feast.

Cicero felt completely alien in this world with each mouthful, the flavors so strange yet addicting. It was sureal, like an out of body experience, as she experienced for the first time, abundance.

Mixed feelings were welling up inside of her as she ate her food, wanting explanations as to why, why all the excess? It was like time was moving slowly with each bite, the thoughts and questions slowly creeping up on her.

When she realized that was what she wanted to ask, it was like a kick in the guts, and she just wanted to explode.

_"They thank something that's invisible for giving them more than what they need? If we had simply asked, would we have been given all this?" _This question rang through her head as she fought with herself not to savor the newness and richness of every tantalyzing morsel.

Leo was also flustered by it all, but more than anything he felt grateful. He was confused, and didn't know what was going to happen, but at least here, he didn't have to worry about his sister starving.

He decided to accept it, although he would have agreed that it was obvious that these cats didn't appreciate much, he was just too polite to point it out.

Mistoffelees couldn't take his eyes off of his mother through the entire meal. As she ate and tried to smile and seem warm and kind, he kept an expression of desperation. It was seeing all this, done for strangers, strangers that were her real kits, not him. It was a knife to the back.

Emotions gnawed through his gut and he barely touched his food, and he was normally a veracious eater. He was so scared, the hurtful truth that he somehow knew... but what would happen now? Would he be replaced by these two misfits? These obvious society rejects that wouldn't fit in if you painted them the same color as the scenery!

He fought back anger and resentment as he slowly chewed a piece of sausage, deciding on dealing with it. He eyed his mother now with suspicion, but he decided to be calm about it, and by the time he had finished eating, it was all back to despair and hurt.

Jelly was the first to rise as she picked up the plates, Leo quickly standing up to help her.

"At least let me help you clear the table," he said, taking the dishes from her paws and carrying them over to the basin that they used as a sink.

Jelly made no attempt to stop him as he assisted her with clearing everything up, she was too stunned by his politeness.

Cicero didn't move, she sat quietly and looked around the den, taking everything in for the first time. There were scattered cushions serving as chairs, and the couch she had laid on the day before had come from a large doll house. There were blocks of smoothed wood that served as small tables for vases and decorations, pieces of an old chandelier with small candles hung from the high ceiling, cascading light across the walls.

It felt warm and pleasant, but beyond that, it was luxurious. The cushions were stuffed with goose feathers, the bed she'd slept on, made from the softest down. The plates were fine china, the low table they sat at was made of mahogony. It was like an abstract dream, this resplendance which she didn't even realize could even exist.

She couldn't quite tell what the den was made of, but later she would find out that it was built into the side of a garbage pile, the walls and floors lined with colorful tiles packed tight so that it was clean, and even beautiful.

To someone who had never slept on anything but an army cot, and who's only comfort had been the arms of her brother, someone who had never had three square meals in one day in her entire life, this was excess in its most extreme.

"I don't understand," she murmured, standing up as her brother came and put his paw around her shoulder. She looked at Jellylorum with fear, and even slight repulsion. She didn't allow Jelly to look into her eyes, as they would have spoken for her.

She couldn't comprehend living this way, it was too much for anyone, she couldn't believe the queen who claimed to be her mother, could have relished in this for years, while she barely survived.

"May we go outside?" she asked, trying to bite back her cynical words for the time being.

"You don't even have to ask," said Jelly, wanting to show them that they didn't have to be afraid. And then turning to Misto, she asked, "Quaxo, why don't you go and show them around the junkyard?"

Misto looked up at his mother with wide eyes, resent welling up for the request of this simple task. He wanted to ask, why me, but instead looked at the two wretches that stood before him.

He knew it was wrong to resent them, he realized it wasn't their fault who they were, but still, it hurt. His life had been perfect, he was the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees, now he wasn't even a member of the tribe, and his dad was a monster.

"Alright," he said, trying to not sound too upset by it all. He sighed deeply as he stood up, wanting to run the same way his sister had ran. He hadn't wanted to know about the painful truth that had always been eating at his heart, and now he was acting as their tour guide.

"This way," he murmured with a sigh, leading them to the door.

Shyly the two cats followed him, covering their eyes from the bright sunlight as they walked out into the open air.

It was warm and there were patches of green dispersed among the piles of garbage, flowers blooming brightly. Light reflected off of the glass bottles that were scattered in front of Misto's den, and birds could be heard chirping despite the noise of the traffic outside the yard.

"So, over there is where we do most of our hunting," said Misto, pointing with his hand toward an area with scattered barrels and tires. "And that den is where Munkustrap, the protector, lives with his mate."

The two frightened cats followed him, as they tried to stay low and go unnoticed. It didn't seem so intimedating after a while, though, after walking for several minutes without bumping into anyone. It was still pretty early, so many were still trying to get up and start the day, giving the newcomers and Misto some privacy.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" asked Misto, as they came to rest next to a tire. He turned around and leaned up against it as he said this, cocking his head to the side and getting a good look at them.

Cicero and Leonid simply looked at him confusedly, unsure of what he meant, having never had the opportunity to do much of anything.

"Um..." begun Leo, but suddenly out of nowhere it seemed, came a crowd of cats, all wanting to get a good look at the strangers. They swarmed in and pushed each other out of the way, each wanting to be the first to ask them questions. There were at least fifty of them, all with curious eyes, some with fear, surrounding Misto and the two siblings in a circle.

It was like they gad come out of nowhere, and they kept coming, and kept coming, some punching and kicking to get to the front. They were like a mob, it was chaos, almost.

They were drawn by the sensationalizm of it, the idea of two sets of siblings being swithced at birth! It was intriguing, it was great gossip material, and these two exotics could satisfy their new curiosity like zoo animals.

It was a tight crowd as bodies rubbed against each other, a mass of fur that blended together. A sea of felines that made up a spectrum of colors, strange eyes staring into the frightened siblings souls. The mob wanted answers, wanted to know everything, as they grabbed at them and yelled their questions, inturrupting each other repreatedly.

"Is it true?"

"Are they really Macavity's?"

"The white one is so small, how can she be 18?"

"Are they safe?"

These and other questions and statements were flung at them by the crowd, making them back up into each other as the crowd closed in.

Off to the side, Victoria watched with contempt, an evil smile spreading over her cheeks. She felt some sick, satisfying pleasure at seeing their discomfort, something she had never felt before.

If they were here to ruin her life, they would have to pay, at least that's what she thought, relishing in the frightened look on Cicero's face.

_"You don't f-ck with the white queen,"_ she mused, as the crowd closed in.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Tense? How do you like the contrast between how Cicero and Leo lived, and what they are getting now? What do you think of what I'm doing with Victoria?<strong>

**Oh, and to all who will see this, thank you for reading, it means a lot to me that anything that I write gets read.**


	8. Upsetting news and things overheard

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Sorry it's so long since I've updated this story, and sorry this is just the past two chapters combined, I went back and looked at everything, and realized they seemed to fit together really well.**

**I promise a real update soon, until then please review.**

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><p>"So you were switched at birth? How exciting!" squealed Etcetera, giddy at the idea something so soap opera-ish.<p>

"It's not exciting, it's horrible. It means I'm not a true Jellicle, I might even be kicked out of the tribe," said Victoria, still angry that Sissy and Leo had been rescued from the crowd she had set on them.

"Come on, kick you and Sparkle-Butt out? Fat chance," chuckled Electra, rolling over onto her back on the pillow she was laying on. "I mean, you lead half the dances at the Jellicle Ball, and your brother is probably going to get some high position someday due to his magic."

"And you like him," teased Cettie.

"Do not," pouted Electra.

"Do too, you told me you happen to have a fettish for tuxes," stated Victoria with an air of triumph, sending Cettie into a giggling fit as Electra covered her face shyly.

"It's not funny," said the tomboy of the junkyard, swatting at Cettie with her paw to make her stop. Of course, Cettie didn't stop laughing, she continued until there were tears in her eyes and she was hiccuping uncontrollably.

"What's also not funny is that my life is ruined," Victoria stated, bringing Cettie's laughter to an abrupt halt. "My life has been a lie. I always thought I was born into the greatest tribe of cats, that because of that I became pretty and talented, that I would become the mate of another Jellicle... everything I defined my life by, none of it was true."

In the silence that followed, you could have heard a pin drop. Even Etcetera, the one who never shuts up, didn't even twitch.

Without another word, Victoria got up and left, coldly and abruptly. When she wanted to leave some place but be remembered, she could make the perfect dramatic exit. She would just stand up and go, leaving everyone behind wondering what had just happened, with the same stunned expressions as the ones on the faces of her two friends.

The white queen angrily stomped through the junkyard, acting so kitten-ish you would think she had just had a screaming tantrum.

The sun was bright and blinding, but she didn't care, she just wanted to get away from everyone for a while. She wanted to run until she collapsed, to run away from the pain, run away from what she thought was her broken life.

"It's ruined, now Plato won't propose, now I won't be able to start my own dance troop, I won't rise to the top of the social ladder. All I ever wanted..."

Her thoughts were clouded with this, these fears that now overwhelmed her, that had motivated her to set that mob on Sissy and Leo. And as the pain intensified, it seemed to just way down on her heavier, until she found she couldn't run anymore, and could only drag her feet in the dirt.

She didn't know how long she went like this, just walking slowly, barely aware of her surroundings. It was like she was in a stuper, her eyes half closed as she dragged her feet along, and she didn't even notice the tux cat that came along side her...

"What you did this morning, it wasn't funny, you could have gotten someone hurt," said Misto, walking along side his sister.

Vic didn't even turn and look at him; didn't seem to acknowledge him in any way.

"... I want them gone," she said finally, after what seemed like minutes. "I mean, Macavity... if he's our father, then who the hell is our mother?" Her eyes seemed to grow three times their normal size as she said this, and she mentally decided that she didn't want to know.

"I always knew something was up, the way mom would look at me..." the tux said, seeming to fall into the stuper his sister was in, before catching himself and realizing he didn't want to act like her. The way she seemed to want to just drag along until she was absorbed into the dirt, with an almost entranced look on her face... she looked horrible.

He immediately straightened up and shook his head, sighing as he decided it was up to him to be the better cat, even though that was normally Victoria's job.

"I don't want them to be sent back to live with Macavity, and mom wanted me to find you to tell you something," he said, stepping in front of his sister now.

She tried to push past him, but he jumped in front of her, spreading his arms and narrowing his eyes.

"Now listen, mom said we're going to introduce them to our friends. I've decided..." and he gulped as he prepared himself to say this, in fact, he couldn't believe he was about to say this himself, as he made up his mind to force out these painful words. "I've decided, for mom's sake, to introduce them as my other siblings."

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><p>Cicero sat crouched on the bed in her room, a look of anger carved into her face so deeply it was literally frightening. In her hands she clutched a large porcelain bowl, determinedly stuffing herself with fatty rat liver soaked and dripping with brine. Disgusting.<p>

She knew it was disgusting, too, but it was supposedly a Jellicle delicacy, as well as a Jellicle joke. But despite the dish's pungency and acrid after-taste, she was chomping into every morsel of it, wanting to make herself sick as she grabbed handfuls and shoved them into her mouth.

"He went with that spoiled rat thing they call a magician!" she screamed inside her mind, swallowing another mouth full and shuddering at the taste. She wanted to feel as sick physically as she felt emotionally; like she was a complete train reck.

Suddenly, she looked up as she heard the sound of soft footsteps coming down the hallway, with the slight off-beat pattern of Leo's limp.

As the sound got closer and the door was gently pushed open, she slowly looked up, focusing her ferious eyes on her brother as he came through the door.

"You," she muttered accusingly. And with that she stood up, glaring at him, rat liver smeared all over her mouth.

"Sissy," he said in a sincere voice, trying to put the fire out. "Whatever you think I did wrong..." He didn't know what to think, he knew his sister was upset when he said he was going out to meet some cats with Mistoffelees, but he had never seen his sister this angry. And what was she even doing?

A look of confusion crept over his normally blank features, as he looked at his sister with half closed, thoughtful eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked; but her response was not what he expected. She sat back down without another word, determined anger just seeming to radiate from her as she gave her brother a dirty look and then shoved her entire face into the bowl of rat liver, wolfing down bite after repulsive bite.

"Sissy, what the hell?" he half yelled, pulling her face out of the bowl.

He tried to pull the bowl out of her hands, but she refused to let him take it him, pulling it back and setting it on the bed.

"You went with that freaky magic one," she said darkly, not even looking at her brother. "You want t-to...to become like them!" With this she stood up, tears beginning to creep up past the anger, and her voice cracked as she tried to choke it back down. "They don't care about anything... they... they have so much, but they feel nothing!"

Leo looked at his reck of a sister, this is what two days in the junkyard had done to her, and just from experiencing kindness and hospitality. She wasn't normally like this, what the heck was she thinking, she looked insane.

"Sister, please," he said, raising his hands as he tried to calm her. "They're not bad, and they want to help us."

But this backfired, of course, his sister being so overly emotional. The words had barely even left his mouth before she had jumped on them, ready to tear what he had just said to shreds.

"Not bad? Do you see they way they live?" she screamed, gesturing around the room. "They're... they're disgusting!" And with that she picked up the bowl of liver and threw it down as hard as she could, smashing it and sending pieces of ceramic and globs of liver flying.

The stuff splattered all over both Sissy and Leo's ankles, as well as coating the floor and legs of the furniture in tanish mush.

Leo watched his sister with calm amazement, knowing all this was stemming from her inner resentment and longing. It was so hard, watching her act like this; it was like she was finally venting all the hurt she had carried with her for so long.

Long ago, she had confided in him that she wanted more than anything to meet her mother. She had whispered about this secret little dream as she would lay in her cot at night, starring up at the ceiling with wide, bright eyes...and then everything her dad did to her just sucked all the life and hope right out of her.

For years it had seemed like a kittenish dream, until now, and she didn't like what she had got.

"They're disgusting?" he asked in a mild voice that was full of reason, gesturing at the mess with his paws.

Sissy looked at him, trying her hardest to keep up her angry composure, but she couldn't, and after just a few seconds of looking into his calm, dark eyes, her entire face contorted with sorrow.

She didn't want him to know the real reason she was acting this way, but she knew he had figured it out. And she was angry with him for it.

It was because she had spent her entire life living in fear, never a safe moment, never getting enough to eat, being abused in the most horrifying ways possible, being treated like an object of filth and loathing as her father would...

And her mother, was not there to protect her.

Tears were flowing in streams down her face, and she held her jaw tight as she avoided her brother's gaze.

With a look of the uttermost heartbreak stained into her gray eyes, she stated in a voice of hate and melancholy lementation, "that bitch isn't my mother."

And just then the door opened slightly, the older queen peeking in just enough to saddly lock eyes with her daughter.


	9. A friend's condition

**Disclaimer: I don't own CATS!**

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this one for real, please review!**

* * *

><p>Leo padded softly after Misto as he followed the tux through the bright, dusty yard, unsure as he looked back and watched his sister hesitating with each step. She was like a mule, she was so stuborn, and making a face about as pretty as a mule as well.<p>

She did not look happy as she huffed after them, with what looked like an everlasting scowl on her face at everything the 'yard had to offer.

The tom had begged his sister to get out of the den, to meet some of the other cats, and to just try and stop acting so hateful and to get to know the Jellicles before she judged them.

He had already met some of the toms his own age, although he had no idea what to think of them, besides the fact that unlike Cicero he didn't think they were horrible. He didn't really talk to them about much, except about their family relationships, about their parents and siblings, since he wanted to know more about the tribe.

But that was just because he was so socially deprived, having spent his whole life stuck in a situation that was dysfunctional to say the least, he knew next to nothing about interacting with toms his own age.

Cicero was trying to just buck up and go through with it, even as her body fought against her commands to move forward. She just wanted to explode and tear apart all that she hated, go back to her window and look at the stars... not have to deal with this, a past she didn't know existed, a future she was unsure of, pain she didn't understand.

If anything, in the end, even through all of her confusion and hate and longing and resentment, she just wanted to be sure of something. Even if it was just the promise to watch the stars with her brother, she just wanted to be sure of something, because everything else made about as much sense as someone on an acid trip acting as tour guide on a vacation to an amusement park.

Leo's limping became more and more visible as they continued, since he wasn't used to doing so much walking; his long lasting injuries and scars just seemed to become even more apparent in this place of refuge.

His scars didn't stand out among the henchcats and roughians found in Macavity's lair, there the only thing that made him stand out was his gentleness. But here his limp seemed worse than ever since it didn't seem normal anymore, his scars standing out visibly against his fur, normally not so noticable in a room full of similar scars, similar wounds.

And he was so out of breath from limping through the heat, although Misto didn't notice, since he was focused on other things.

But Sissy noticed, knowing her brother and his physical limitations well, as she came to a brisk hault, planting her feet firmly into the dirt. "Hey, we need to stop," she said to Misto, in a voice that actually seemed to command respect, and not like she was just complaining.

"Wha-" he begun cluelessly as he turned around, before he saw Leo holding himself up on his paws as he panted.

"I... I just need a minute," he said between breaths, as Sissy stepped up to him and helped him sit down on a tire, not letting go of him and rubbing his shoulder.

Misto stared at the exhausted tom, surprised he would tire after such a short walk, not realizing it hurt to walk for too long because of his injuries.

Sissy sat on the ground and leaned her head into Leo's chest, looking up at his face with a worried look, the same way she always did growing up, whenever he was punished because of her. "You're stupid, you know that right? All those times you stood up for me and got hurt for it, now look at you," she murmured in a teasing voice, nuzzling him slightly.

He simply responded by giving her a slight smile even as he was trying to catch his breath, and then shaking his head no, to show that he thought she was wrong, and that everything he had gone through had been worth it.

Misto didn't hear what Sissy had said, and so he didn't know what to think as he watched them. It was almost sureal, seeing two cats that were so much like yet so different from him and his sister. Both the same colors and the same age, but that really was were the resemblance ended, as they're personalities matched about as much as Munkus' and Tugger's did.

He wanted to say something to them, wanted to ask them a million questions about their lives, to understand them, but the awkward tom had no idea what to say. And before he could say anything, he caught the sight of a small group of cats heading their way.

At first the tux worried it would turn into another mob situation, until he saw who it was, just some of his friends.

Tumblebrutus, Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima, all chattering about the exciting new visiters, until they noticed the small group right in front of them, and rushing to greet them.

"Oh no," said Misto exasperatedly, when he realized how overly excited they could get, especially Etcetera; he did not want his friends to scare the daylights out of these scared, socially starved cats.

But much to Misto's relief, they stopped about halfway, next to an old refrigerator, where it seemed Electra had to practically hold Etcetera down to keep her from bouncing to the moon, or tackling the two new cats.

Sissy and Leo finally looked up and saw the small group of cats up at the fridge staring at them, fear and uncertainty taking the back seat to curiousity as they watched the queens practically throw Tumblebrutus toward them, obviously sending him to greet them.

Tumble, I'll bite a bit stumblingly, walked right up to Misto with a kittenish look on his face, eyeing the brother and sister constantly.

"Misto... so what's with them? They're a couple of weird critters, aren't they?" he whispered to the tux in a sneaky voice as he wondered why they were so nervous.

"They're okay, they're just scared," said Misto, glaring at his tactless friend. "And don't stare!"

Of course, Tumble _wouldn't_ stop staring, as they huddled together nervously at the eyes of the young tom and the queens who still hadn't approached.

"Well, they won't stop staring," said Tumble, gesturing behind his back to the three queens, who were chattering excitedly and giggling as they were obviously ogling the brother and sister.

"I'll be right back," he said in a sleezy voice, nodding to Leo and Cicero and inching back toward the group of queens.

"Just look at her, she looks like she could just get picked up and blown away by the wind," giggled Cettie, commenting on how small in stature Cicero was.

"I wonder what they like to do for fun, probably kill giant rats or cat fighting," said Jemima, eyeing Leo's scars admiringly.

"I don't know, they probably don't have much fun, considering where they're from. Although the tom is kind of handsome," whispered Electra, casting an occassional glance at Leo.

"Oh, you find any tom attractive," said Cettie, taking a swat at Electra's ear with her paw in a teasing manner, intent on making her sister embarrassed.

Misto watched as Tumble approached the queens, not really caring so much as to what they were saying, but more interested in talking to the queens and maybe finally getting a date.

"Hey Leo," he said, moving toward the tom and sitting down next to him, keeping one eye on the queens. "You see those queens over there, do'a think either of us have a shot with one of them?" He said this as he wiped his nuckles on his chest in a show-offy manner, really to silly too be sauve.

"What?" asked Leo, looking away from his sister. "Do you mean like... courting?" It felt like a window has been shattered, since the tom had never been in a situation that gave him the opportunity to date before, and he suddenly found himself feeling like his limbs had gone numb with nervousness, as well as just the shock that this option existed now.

"Um, I don't know what courting is, but if it involves taking a queen out on the town for a night, then sure," said Misto, shrugging. "Hey Tumble, girls, get over here!" called Misto, trotting over and leaving Leo and Sissy alone.

"Are queens the only thing he thinks about?" asked Cicero, relaxing and putting a smile on her face now that she didn't have to deal with the magician for the moment.

"Probably," said Leo, still slightly in shock, letting out a sigh until he noticed Electra looking at him with a sweet smile, pretending to be listening to the others while she kept glancing his way.

Leo watched her curiously, noting her unusual normalcy compared to her sister Etcetera, who just seemed so hyper. She kept giving him looks, although she wasn't conventionally beautiful, she had this different sort of prettiness about her that just seemed to come from her personality, as well as her scruffiness.

Leo shyly returned her smile as he found himself unable to think straight, his sister noticing and bumping him on the arm with her paw. "Go talk to her, lover boy," she teased, acting all silly, something only her brother could coax out of her. "Go get'em, show that goofy magician how it's done."

The awkward tom wasn't sure how, but he found himself walking toward the group, struggling to smile as he wobbled nervously on his feet like his legs had turned into jelly. As he stopped in front of them, Electra turned around and faced him, cocking her head to the side and smiling. "Hey, so you're new?" she asked.

"...Yes, I'm Leo, what's your name?" he said, trying to keep from tripping over his own words, even though outwardly he kept up that calm, thoughtfulness he never had to fake, until now.

"Electra... so you wanna..." she begun, gesturing away from the others and stepping away from there little group, as she noticed the stares they were getting from the other queens and Tumble.

"Sure," he managed, as he tried to swallow his nervousness and followed her, getting out of hearing distance of the others but staying in sight of his sister, who watched from her spot which she hadn't left.

"So... how are you and your sister adjusting?" she asked, really unsure of where to begin, since she had no idea what he had been through.

"We're doing alright in many ways.. although it would be nice to not be stared at constantly and mobbed," he said, with a half laugh.

"Sorry about that, we don't get many new clan members, especially in such unusual circumstances. Although really that's no excuse," she added, wanting to be clear that she had nothing to do with the mobs.

"It's okay, I just hope we can stay here, even if Cicero is mad about it," he whispered this last part, looking over his shoulder as he said it.

"Well, I hope you can stay also. Maybe we could even hang out sometime," she said, scratching her ear a little nervously as she said this.

"Okay... why not tomorrow? You could come over for lunch, Jelly's been making every meal a feast," he said, wanting to ask her before she lost inerest.

At this Electra was taken aback slightly, since she didn't expect him to call his mother by name, and this was kinda fast, but she decided to just go with it. "Sure, I'd like that," she said sweetly.

"Great... so I'll see you around noon?" he said, looking around Electra at his anxiously waiting sister.

"Okay, I can't wait," she said, stepping out of his way, watching as he limped back to his sister, at the same time as Misto started in the same direction.

Just then, the scruffy queen felt a familiar paw on her shoulder, and she turned here head to find the eyes of her sister staring into hers. "So, how'd it go. Electra?" asked Etcy, in her trilly voice.

"So how'd it go, Misto?" asked Cicero in a voice that was icy yet with a slight touch of wit. Humor is best served cold.

"Pretty good, actually, since I really no how to sway a queen," he said in a cocky voice. "I'm thinking I may ask out Jemmi sometime."

"A ha. And how about you, brother?" she said, using a tone of incredulousness with Misto before turning sweetly to Leo, as he walked back up to her, his limp not nearly as prominent as usual.

"Electra's coming over for lunch tomorrow," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hope that doesn't bother you, Misto."

"Bother me? You kidding, she's not the prettiest queen out there. But, if you find her attractive..." he said, shaking his head at the idea of going out with such a tom boy.

"Well isn't somebody shallow?" asked Cicero, putting her arm around her brothers neck and walking off with him

* * *

><p><em>That night, at Electra and Cettie's den.<em>

"So you saw them today?" asked Victoria, batting a paw in the air as she imagined wiping the whole bloody mess off the scope of her life and getting things back to the way she liked them.

"Yeah, they were with Misto," giggled Cettie, "they're just sooo weird, you know?" She was an unashamed gossip, a cat and a queen if there ever was one, even if she was so little-girlish at times she seemed rediculously silly.

"Well, I think Leo is nice," said Electra, deciding to just be honest about it. "I mean, he's down to earth, and he really cares for his sister."

At this Victoria sat up and raised an eyebrow at her, studying her face for any hints of betrayal, knowing something was up. "I don't care if they're nice, they're a threat. And... and if you're my friend, you won't speak to them!"

Electra tried to hide her reaction as what Victoria said hit her like a piano dropping from the tower of London, and she suddenly found herself unable to breathe. _"But I'm going over to their den for lunch tomorrow!"_ she screamed inside her head, as she found she may have to choose between getting to know this tom, and her best friend.


End file.
